Umbra
by MizukiYukiko
Summary: Sasuke has a crush on an international pop-star, the Queen of J-Pop, as dubbed by Rolling Stone Magazine. Except, he doesn't, not really, anyway. SasukeXSakura. AkatsukiXSakura Friendship. Alternate Universe. 50 shinobi theme challenge #20. Springtime of youth.
1. Part I: Particles

Story: Umbra

Author: MizukiYukiko

Rated: M

Pairing: SasukeXSakura

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Naruto.

Summary: Sasuke has a crush on an international pop-star, the Queen of J-Pop, as dubbed by Rolling Stone Magazine. Except, he doesn't, not really, anyway.

Notes: 50-shinobi theme #20. Springtime of youth.

* * *

 **Part I: Particles**

" _And if this thing goes wrong_ _  
_ _Oh put me back together_ _  
_ _However you want"_

 _– Particles by Nothing but Thieves_

* * *

Blowing one more kiss from the stage into the screaming fans that were packed into the Tokyo Dome, Otsuka Kaori waved to the blaring mass of over 50,000 people who had come to see her first performance at the venue.

The noise had been overwhelming from the moment she had risen from a platform beneath the stage to appear as if she had arrived from thin air, the fog machines obscuring the view of her, until she made her last bow after her encore. The incredible collection of Otsuka Kaori fanatics had only calmed down for the two ballads that she had sung. Then, her loyal admirers had lit up their lighters and cell phone flashlights to sway along to the softer tempo.

The moment she stepped back stage, she ripped off the _ridiculous_ high heels her manager had asked her to perform in, dropping her height down several centimeters. An assistant handed her a cool water bottle and a towel, which Kaori took with a smile. Only a moment later, aforementioned manager was pulling her into a sweat-slicked bear hug, to her utter disgust.

"YOU DID AWESOME, KAORI-CHAN!" he exclaimed excitedly, taking the moment to twirl her around, his booming laugh all she could hear so tightly pressed to his broad chest.

"Kisame, you disgusting gorilla, let me down!" the petite girl protested, straightening her tank top once he acquiesced. It was black and fell just past her hips, but the entire front was taken up by a gold shimmering skull and crossbones. Her shorts – which were shorter than she would have liked, coming up a few centimeters short of her fingertips – were black with gold and silver polka dots.

The young woman smiled at him despite her lackluster ire, dark brown eyes sparkling in the lights that were slowly coming on backstage, clearly still high from her stellar performance; adrenaline was rushing through her like a drug. It had been the largest show she had booked so far, and the tickets had sold out in a matter of hours.

Her manager grabbed her cheeks in his hands and planted a kiss on her forehead before ushering her further backstage. Usually, he was not nearly as affectionate, tending to be a stoic, caring (in his own way), and gruff man. But the night had been a rousing success, and the excitement surrounding her achievements seemed to be infectious to everyone. Many of the people on her team were coming up to give her congratulations, tapping her shoulder affectionately, and in one bold case, ruffling her elaborately pinned hair.

Picking up the golden boots that she had worn, Kisame and Kaori made their way backstage where her makeup artist sat. He gave her a thumbs-up when he saw her.

"Amazing as always, yeah," he told her, guiding her to the makeup chair he had previously been sitting in. After blotting some of the sweat off of her warm, perspiring face, he picked up a few brushes and began dipping them in various powders.

"Thank you Deidara," she replied, but Deidara's blush brush moved at the wrong moment and powder got stuck in her mouth, causing her to start to cough. Deidara snorted, patting her on the back as he did so to help her clear her lungs from the foundation powder.

Kisame ignored her momentary fit. "There a small line of fans that we pulled out to meet you. They were the ones that got in line for general admission at 8 this morning. Picture, autographs, the works. Spend some time with them, and then you can go home," he told her.

"I have an exam on Monday, so I can't stay too late," Kaori reminded him. Deidara pulled back from the makeup, having fixed anything that had smudged during the performance.

The hairdresser, Sasori, had gone home already, having stayed through her one outfit change, so Deidara took a moment to tug her hair in different directions, straightening it out and making sure all the pins stayed in place. The crown of her hair was brown on top, gradually dyed red towards the end, and fell down past her breasts. It was braided on the top and pinned back to stay out of her face. Tapping her face a few times with his thumbs and forefinger, careful not to disturb her makeup, Deidara gave her a smile.

"Beautiful. Now go make your fans' night."

Sakura grinned and threw on a pair of black converse boots she kept with her so she wouldn't have to wear those forsaken gold high-heeled boots again. After taking a moment to lace them up, she ran to where Kisame was waiting for her impatiently, constantly checking his phone for the time.

"If you want to make that 11:30 bus, you're going to have to be quick."

Kaori frowned and worried her lower lip in her teeth, considering.

"Could you get me a car instead?" she asked. Her fans had spent a lot of time and money to come see her, and she wanted to make sure they got the time they deserved for being so loyal. The pop star just didn't feel right not giving them her undivided attention for the few minutes she was able to carve out with them.

Kisame smiled at her, a sharp-toothed grin. "You got it, Chibi-Koneko."

Growling at the insipid nickname, Kaori went through the door to see the 10 or so fans that they had picked out for her, quickly plastering on a smile for them. An hour later, after pictures and autographs and dogged hounding questions about her personal life, Kaori slipped out of the room and back into the makeup area where Kisame was still waiting for her. The lighting and sound crews were working diligently to get all of her special effects put away carefully.

With a relieved sigh, Kaori expertly pulled the wig from her head, allowing her shoulder-length pink hair to fall down from where it had been confined with a cap since that afternoon. Then, she opened her contact case and plucked the too-thick brown contacts from their places to reveal bright, sparking jade eyes.

"Ah, Sakura-chan's back," Kisame declared, letting a small chuckle escape him. He was sitting with his arm propping his head up on her makeup stand, his eyes not leaving the screen of his phone that he was scrolling through. Sticking her tongue out at him, Haruno Sakura wiped the gobs of makeup from her face with a wet cloth. Moving behind the changing screen, she pulled off her stage outfit and pulled on a pair of jeans and a purple hoodie with a caricature of an ice cream cone with a smiley face.

"The concert reviews are already going up online. Seems to be all good," he told her when she emerged.

"Good. I really hope everyone had as much fun as I did. This crowd was amazing," she replied, handing her stage outfit off to Haku, her personal assistant, with a smile. He would be sure to make sure it got cleaned and put away correctly (Sakura had used to try to do this herself, but she kept getting her stage outfits wrinkled or dirty, so Kisame hired her an assistant to make sure she "didn't screw up" along with other things).

"Is the car out back?" Sakura asked, grabbing her phone and wallet and shoving them in the pocket of her hoodie.

Grunting an affirmative, Kisame led her through the winding hallways in the back of the Tokyo Dome where he made sure she got into the nondescript black sedan he had called for her safely. She gave him a thankful wave, and the car pulled out onto the busy night streets of Tokyo.

From the car, Sakura texted her roommates to let them know that she wasn't taking the bus back. It was only a fifteen-minute drive from the arena to the small apartment she shared with Ino, Tenten, and Hinata. After bidding goodnight to the amiable driver, she made her way up the stairs of the high rise building. It was only a twenty-minute walk from the University of Tokyo's Hongo campus, which was perfect for her and Hinata, who were both students at Todai.

Sakura finally began to feel the adrenaline from the night begin to wear off just as she opened the door to the apartment. Most of the lights were off, but she heard the TV in the living room going. It took forever for her to unlace and rip off the converse, but when they were finally removed, the pinkette made her way into the main area where Ino was sitting with a bottle of wine and some popcorn.

"Heard on the radio that the concert was incredible," she said with a Cheshire grin on her face. Sakura nodded, feeling the excitement coming down and a bone-wariness start arrive in waves. Ino pointed to the kitchen, where Sakura found an already prepared cup of chamomile tea with just a bit of honey and lemon for her throat.

"It was great," Sakura agreed after thanking her roommate and best friend of 16 years for the tea. "The crowd was really into it, and that makes it so much easier to be energetic and happy."

Ino hummed. "You've got one in Osaka next weekend, right?"

"Yeah, on Saturday. I'll probably take the train on Friday night and spend the night in a hotel. An expensive one. You want to come? I'll treat us to a spa night. I'm going to need it after all the projects I have due this week," Sakura moaned, reminded of the large pile of school work waiting for her on her desk. Her blonde friend rolled her eyes.

"Yes, it must be so hard being an international pop star," she replied sarcastically, but with no real heat.

Ino knew how hard Sakura worked to keep her celebrity life separate from her normal, day-to-day medical student activities. It was hard work, especially when so few people even knew of her double identity. Outside of their roommates, Sakura's parents, and her personal staff members that helped with her transition when she became Otsuka Kaori, nobody knew about her secret identity.

"Tenten and Hinata-chan are coming, right?" Ino confirmed. Sakura hummed her affirmation over the ridge of the tea cup that was raised to her lips.

"Not until Saturday. Tenten works Friday night and Hinata-chan has a prep class for law school entrance exams on Saturday morning," Sakura answered.

"Okay, I guess you've convinced me." Ino stood up, corked the wine, and walked into the kitchen where she put it in the refrigerator. Sakura dug her hand into what was left of her friend's popcorn and popped it into her mouth but grimaced; it was not pleasant with the aftertaste of the chamomile tea. Seeing the look on Sakura's face, Ino snorted. "It's what you get, klepto. Now shower and go to bed; you stink of sweat and fame."

Quietly making her way down one hallway as not to wake Hinata, whose bedroom was adjacent to hers, Sakura stepped into the bathroom across the hall. After washing off the sweat and glitter (and fame, according to Ino), Sakura got into her comfy pajamas, an old pair of Naruto's orange sweatpants and a baggy old t-shirt, and plopped face down into bed. Still a little wound up, she flipped the 'on' switch to her white noise machine and tried to meditate. After a while of reliving every moment of the concert, she fell into a heavy sleep.

X

"Help me with this paper."

Sasuke plopped his backpack down in the space on the table next to her, sighing as he ran a hand anxiously through his hair. Sakura tutted quietly under her breath so she didn't bother those studying intensely around her, shaking her head in mock shame. "Why don't you try asking instead of demanding?"

Sakura tried to ignore Sasuke, who was staring at her intensely, waiting for her resolve to falter, which she was sure it would at some point. With his dark eyes watching the side of her face so intensely, she felt her cheeks unconsciously flush. It made her _so mad_ – after years of friendship, and years after getting over her little crush ("Psh, little crush. You were in love with him. You're still in love with him. You will always be in love with him," Ino had told her), that he could still make her blush like she was twelve.

"But it's on _boring_ medical stuff. You love it," he coaxed, leaning further into her so she could smell his cologne. Her heart fluttered a bit, and her stomach twisted in knots. She was a pop star, could have anyone she wanted, but the one person she had known for years could still turn her to mush.

Rolling her eyes and getting an evil idea, Sakura grabbed her pencil and stuck it up Sasuke's nose when he got too close. He cursed, pulling it out and throwing it at her. It would have hit the pinkette in her head had she not dodged. The offending pencil fell to the ground on the other side of Sakura; the university student who was sitting to her right pulled his head out of his book long enough to give them both a wicked glare.

"Sorry," she murmured, cheeks flaming, this time with shame from the ruckus they had caused. Sasuke was looking away when she turned back, hauling out his laptop and opening it to pull up his paper. "Plus, don't you want to get your Masters in Psychology? You will have to know _boring medical stuff_ in order to do that."

Sakura's phone vibrated. Swiping the screen open, she saw it was a picture from her stylist, Konan. She often got photos from her of different outfits for various events she had coming up. This time, it looked to be a piece for a concert – a loose fitting, three-quarter sleeved tunic that would fall mid-thigh. It looked like a patchwork of different fabrics, patterns, and colors, and there was a pair of opaque black tights that shimmered in the light. A pair of flat bottomed colorful basketball shoes was to the side, which were much more practical for jumping around and dancing to the complicated choreography she did.

There was one word with the picture **: Osaka?**

Thinking it over for a moment, she typed back that she'd rather have shorts as the stage lights were very hot, and because it was late winter, the venues often turned the heat on in the beginning of the evening. Just as she was about to set her phone down, another text came through. This one was from Kisame.

 **You have a break from school in the summer, right? Label is thinking short international tour. China, South Korea, Taiwan, and maybe a few shows in America.**

Sighing, Sakura responded the dates that she would have a break on and asked to have at least a week off from work. A reply from Konan came in with a picture of white shorts with a colorful embroidered pattern on the bottom hem, which she answered with a thumbs-up emoji. When she put her phone down, Sasuke had finally gotten his computer screen open, and if Sakura had been drinking anything, she would have spit it out.

On his computer was a picture of her. Well, not her, but of Otsuka Kaori. It was a still from one of her concerts. There was a dazzling smile on her face, and her hand was up in the air, splayed to the sky. It looked to be from a show she had done in Taiwan the year before.

"Sasuke?"'

"Aa?"

"Do you have a pop star as your wallpaper?"

Scowling and slamming his laptop shut, Sasuke shot her an acidic glare. "What's it to you?"

Sakura giggled and patted him on the shoulder, trying to hide her discomfiture. With a grin, she replied, "Nothing. Just that one time you said pop music was the bane of the world, from Japan to America and beyond, and that you would rather break all of the fingers on your left hand than go to a live concert for a pop artist."

Sakura watched as a tinge of pink began to spread over the bridge of Sasuke's nose and his cheeks.

"Otsuka Kaori is _different_ ," was his response. The secret pop star tilted her head in confusion, waiting for his explanation. "She can actually sing and dance, and she writes her own music. I watched a few of her live performances, and she's talented. And she cares about people other than herself. When the earthquake hit Kamakura a few years back, she donated 20 million yen to the relief efforts, _and_ she chartered a private plane, filled it with clothing, food, and water and had it sent down there."

Oh yeah, Sakura remembered, Kisame had been _furious_ with her when she had done that without permission as she had borrowed a plane owned by her label.

"And she is kind to her fans. Did you know she chooses like 10 fans from each show to pull to the back and meet her? They don't have to pay extra for it, like some celebrities, and –"

"Sasuke," the pinkette interrupted his long winded justification of his love for her alter ego, another blush rising in her chest and up to her ears from his inadvertent compliments. To her relief, Sasuke seemed to catch himself, realizing what he was saying, and blushed a little more too. He wasn't making eye contact with her; instead, he kept his eyes on his hands, which were clenching on the table in front of him.

"You're a fanboy."

Growling, Sasuke turned to defend himself, but instead focused on the near-hysterical laughter about to pour out of Sakura, and realized there was no defending himself from this.

He was a fanboy.

Scowling at her but not quite making eye contact, Sasuke allowed some of the irritation he felt for her fade away. "Are you doing anything this weekend?" he asked. "She has a show in Osaka that's not sold out yet. We could go if you wanted."

Leaning back in her chair to peer at the ceiling so he wouldn't see her nervousness, Sakura shook her head. "I have plans with my parents this weekend. Ino, Tenten, and Hinata are all going, so you can see if you can tag along with them. I'm sure Naruto will join if it means seeing Hinata-chan."

Since she was still staring at the dome-like windows that covered the roof of the building, which allowed natural light to flood the library, Sakura didn't see Sasuke frown at her in disappointment.

"Yeah," he sighed. Reopening his computer and pulling up the screen, Sakura took another look at herself in her hair and makeup before it was covered with Sasuke's paper. The pinkette peered over his shoulder while he typed, pointing to small errors in his wording and helping him with the assignment.

X

Later that day found Haruno Sakura throwing her hand out to karate chop one Uchiha Itachi in the shin after he touched an ice cold water bottle to the back of her exposed neck during one of their breaks. The more stoic of the Uchiha brothers let out a huff of laughter and slid down on the mirrored wall next to her.

The pop star was flipping through one of her social media profiles as Otsuka Kaori and liking fans' posts and comments about her, responding to a few. She put her phone down and turned towards her choreographer/dance teacher.

"So why didn't you tell me?" she asked with an accusing point of her finger, which she slowly pushed into the dark haired man's cheek, leaving a crescent moon shaped indent from her nail in his pale skin. Pushing the offending finger away, Itachi arched an eyebrow at her, telling her to elaborate. With a melodramatic sigh, Sakura fell on her side so the side of her face was pressed to the cool floor of the dance studio. "That Sasuke-kun likes Otsuka Kaori."

"I didn't know he did," was the elder Uchiha's reply, and he seemed genuinely surprised, not that his student could always tell from his relatively monotone inflections. Huffing, Sakura turned to face the white tiled ceilings so she was lying on her back. It made sense that Itachi wouldn't have a clue, as he hadn't lived with Sasuke since he had graduated university years before; it was doubtful they would talk about pop music when they got the chance to spend time together.

"This ruins everything, senpai," she whined out in a childlike manner. Itachi poked her in her side, triggering her to squeal and shoot up and almost hit her head on the balance bar that was attached to the wall.

"How so?"

"If Sasuke-kun finds out that I'm a pop star and asks me out, it would be because I'm Otsuka Kaori, not Haruno Sakura," she complained. Her stomach sunk a little as she realized how true her words were. Sakura did not see Itachi roll his eyes. _These two are_ never _going to get together that this rate_. He thought to himself.

"You're being dramatic," he replied with a hint of steel to his voice, but he did not press the issue further. She just looked too depressed about it all. "Come on. Let's work on the choreography for _Smile_ again. You end up a count behind your back up dancers because you come up too late from your windmills."

"Do not," was the grumbled reply, but she stuck her hands out and waved them into the open air, miming for him to help her up from the floor. He huffed another laugh but pulled her up regardless.

Itachi walked Sakura all the way to the train station (Uchiha Mikoto taught her boys manners, that was for sure) before he doubled back to make his way to his own apartment. Sakura took the subway to her stop and then picked up some menchi-katsu for a quick dinner.

The apartment was silent when she returned. A large whiteboard was hung on the wall in the kitchen with all of their names written out. They used this to know where each person was at any given time if it hadn't been communicated through their group text that day. Hinata was at the library studying, Ino was at work, and Tenten was spending the night at her boyfriend's apartment. Sakura erased the words that said "Dance Practice" next to her name and wrote "Home."

After eating and finishing some reading for her biology class, Sakura felt the weight of the day on her and started to hum a mellow tune. She didn't know why the revelation that Sasuke enjoyed Otsuka Kaori bothered her so much, but it did. She supposed it might have been because she had pined for him for years, yet he fell in love with her alter ego so easily. In a way, she supposed, Sakura was jealous of herself.

Making her way to her keyboard, she turned on the overhead lamp and pulled out her notebook. Her fingers had worn dark spots in the keys where they hit so many times before, and she ran the back of her knuckles over the well-loved keys. It was natural, for her fingers to press down in chords. First, she started with the tune that she had been humming, making changes so it would flow better.

Then, the lyrics came naturally, spilling from her lips like a running river. It was a ballad, brimming with lines of unrequited love and watching someone you could never hope to have after so many years of friendship, about how she would change herself to make the other person love her. Stopping after she got out a decent first verse and chorus, she moved to the bridge where her voice hit a crescendo, so she was singing from her chest and stomach, belting out the words loudly. As her voice hit it's loudest point, it cracked.

She pretended like it was vocal fry and not the consuming sadness that was taking over.

"It's good."

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin. "Damn it Ino!"

Said blond was leaning against the door jamb between her room and the hallway with a small frown on her lips. Waiting for her to speak, Sakura stretched out her back and arms and checked her phone. She had been composing for almost two hours and had four unanswered text messages, two from Kisame, one from her parents, and one from Haku.

"Sorry, Forehead. I thought you heard me come in," Ino replied. The blonde was still in her waitress uniform, and it was clear she had come straight to Sakura's room when she heard her singing after returning from work. She walked over, toeing off her flats in the process, and joined Sakura on her bench. "The song was really good. Will it go on your next album?"

Sakura twisted her lips. "I don't know yet. I'll have to send a sound bite to Pein and see what he thinks of it."

Ino gave Sakura a sympathetic smile and patted her on the hand. Confused, Sakura tilted her head a bit at her friend. Ino grabbed Sakura's face in her hands, wiping her thumbs under the singer's eyes.

It was then that Sakura realized she had been crying.

X

The Osaka show, the last of Otsuka Kaori's Japan tour, was a huge success, and raving reviews of her performance were on every magazine in the nation. Rolling Stone Magazine, one of the most famous in the United States and the world, even called her The Queen of J-Pop and said she was the first Japanese artist to excite western countries to this level and even speculated about her tour to the US, which her management team was still working on finalizing the dates and venues for.

Sakura took the next few weeks to finish up school work and record the song she had written. There were others she was prepared to record for her third studio album, and she looked forward to getting back into the studio again. Her song, dubbed _Umbra_ , was recorded and remastered by her producer and voice coach, Pein, but it stayed a piano ballad with very basic percussion laid over it to enhance the sound.

Unbeknownst to her, he sent the track to Itachi. Three weeks after the track was completed, two months to the day after her Osaka concert, Sakura received a video from Itachi. Plugging in her head phones and sitting at the bus stop on campus as she waited for her bus to take her to the gym where she worked out, Sakura pressed play on the video.

It was of two of her backup dancers, Hanabi (Hinata's sister) and Kimimaro.

They were both wrapped in cloth from just above their knees, up their bodies, ending just below their collarbones. Hanabi was in all white, while Kimimaro was in black. Sakura heard Itachi give a four count from somewhere off screen, and he must have pressed play on the music, for she heard the piano introduction for _Umbra_ come over the loud speakers in the dance studio _._

Hanabi's feet went into relevé and she began twirling around Kimimaro, her knees never buckling and her feet constantly in pointe. Somewhere in her turns, she grabbed and end of the black wrap that enveloped Kimiaro's knee and began twisting it off of him and placed it around her chest.

Kimimaro did the same to her outfit, grabbing the cloth on her chest and beginning to twist it around his knee. As the song progressed, the duo danced around each other in a mixture of lyrical and contemporary styles as they unwrapped each other and bound themselves in the opposite color. Never once did they completely touch, their fingers barely ghosting over each other as the two pieces of fabric were the only things that connected them.

When the song reached the crescendo that could still choke Sakura up when she sang it, the two completed wrapping each other and came together, their bodies pressed close as they grasped each other's hands, Kimimaro pushed Hanabi away from him as she went into a spin. The last few lines were soft, and the two were pushed to the ground on their toes and hands, stretching one arm out towards each other from across the room. The final notes of the piano faded out as the two finally collapsed, their hands still reaching for the other.

The video ended, and the pinkette just stared blankly at the concrete sidewalk, a few tears escaping her emerald eyes. She was so moved by the duet's performance, and not for the first time, she thanked her lucky stars that Itachi was her choreographer. Abruptly, most likely because she was so absorbed with her thoughts, two Nike-covered feet came into her vision, and Sakura dragged her eyes up to find Sasuke looming over her.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he collapsed in the bench next to her, dropping his heavy book bag onto the ground. Sakura took a shuddering breath and pressed her face to his shoulder, moving her eyes to the side so her cheek was resting comfortably on the side of his arm. Sasuke stiffened at the contact, and Sakura thought to apologize but didn't.

"Your brother…" she trailed off, taking another deep breath, "is just so talented!"

Sasuke made a gagging noise.

"He was supposed to become the disappointment when he decided to be a choreographer instead of a lawyer, you know," he muttered with a bite to this tone. Although his seemed miffed with her, he did not make her move her head from his shoulder while they waited for the bus, and he did not mention it later when she fell asleep and drooled on him, leaving a wet spot on his shirt.

* * *

Author's Note:

I have always wanted to do a fic that really incorporated the Akatsuki in a setting that was not in the Naruto Universe, so I got this idea one day and just ran with it. I thought doing a SasukeXSakura fic with AkatsukiXSakura friendship would be different.

This will be about 3-5 chapters total, so it will not be a super long fic. Also, I am not from Japan nor have I been to Japan (one day, I hope), but I did do a lot of research into all of the Japanese elements I put into this fic. However, if you see something that is wildly inaccurate, please let me know so I can correct it.

If you would like to hear the song that I had in mind when describing Sakura's song, listen to _Particles (Piano Version)_ by Nothing but Thieves. The songs aren't the same, obviously, but that's the overall feeling that I was thinking of for Sakura's song. It's really a lovely piece.

Thank you so much for reading. Please review!


	2. In interim: All Eyes

**Umbra**

 **In interim: All Eyes**

* * *

" _We can attest, arrange  
We can assess, we can attain  
We are the entry for entities  
To entice and entertain"  
\- All Eyes by Imagine Dragons_

* * *

 _Bang, bang, bang!_

"It's wake up time, Rabid-Kitty-chan!" a voice boomed in the apartment building's hall. How their neighbors had not complained to the building manager was a mystery, as she was sure that these loud wake up calls were common enough to warrant one.

"Fuck," Sakura groaned into her pillow, pulling another one on top of her head to ignore the incessant pounding on the front door of her apartment. Blearily, the exhausted university student blinked her eyes slowly as another set of hammering blows rattled the front door. There was shuffling throughout the apartment as she heard some of her poor roommates rousing from their own slumbers.

Checking her phone, Sakura let out another lengthy growl. It wasn't even 7 a.m. on a Saturday, and she had two missed calls from the man currently trying to break her door down.

What was that lug doing here so early?

"I know you're in there, you lazy piece of donkey shit! Get out of bed!" Amazing how clear his voice was through the door, she internally speculated. Then there was stomping from the living room as the distinctly male steps came barreling down her hallway.

"Damn it, Ino," the pinkette muttered to herself, cursing her best friend for letting in the brash man who had just threw open her bedroom door with little ceremony.

"There you are! You're still in bed?!" he bellowed from the door. "You're going on tour in a few weeks! It's time to whip you back into shape!"

"Fuck you, Hidan!" Sakura shouted from her safe burrow under piles of blankets and pillows, but it came out muffled and whiney from her place interred in her bed. "I don't wanna! It's Saturday!"

The young grey-haired man, that acted as her personal trainer and kept her in celebrity shape, was at the foot of Sakura's bed in two large steps. "Too damn bad," he retorted with a snort. "I hope you're decent under those blankets because they're coming off!"

"Noooooo," the pop star wailed as Hidan grabbed the bedspread in two fists and went to rip it off of her. In an iron grip, Sakura clutched onto the covers as hard as she could, but it was no use – Hidan was much stronger than her and her comforter was tossed to the floor, exposing her prone, shivering body, clad in a tank top and an old pair of Shikamaru's basketball shorts.

"You have three minutes to be ready for a run before I come back in here, whether you're naked or not!" he commanded, heading back to the hallway and closing the door behind him roughly. It rattled the picture frames hanging on her wall. He wasn't bluffing, either; Hidan did not make idle threats.

With a string of curses flowing from her mouth, Sakura hoisted herself out of bed and padded to her wardrobe, reaching in blindly and dragging out some decent workout clothes. She pulled on a pair of shorts and a clean tank top and threw her sleeping clothes by her pillows. After tossing her comforter back on her bed and pulling on some socks and her running shoes, Sakura made her way to the bathroom, where she washed her face, brushed her teeth, and pulling her hair back and out of her face with a hair tie.

This was all done in a mechanical, pre-caffeine fashion, her overall demeanor more of a zombie than the glamorous celebrity her fans thought she was. When she emerged from the bathroom and made her way down the hall, she found Hidan lounging comfortably on her plush sofa, feet kicked up onto the coffee table, looking like he belonged there. Before she could chastise him for being a rat turd jackass, a warm cup of black coffee was handed to her, halting her verbal assault in its tracks.

Itachi smiled, sipping his own cup of over-sugared coffee – the elder of the Uchiha brothers had a major sweet tooth that Sakura found as endearing as she slightly off putting (she had never seen someone have more sugar and creamer than coffee in a cup).

Ino was in the kitchen, sitting on the counter and swinging her legs back and forth like a child. For every bit that Sakura was a night owl, Ino could hop out of bed and be her normal, perky self after five minutes.

Sakura loathed it.

Grumbling incoherent insults to herself for not being as put together as her friends, the tired woman sipped her steaming mug of black heaven and trudged into the kitchen just as the toaster popped.

"Those are yours," her blonde roommate said, taking a bite out of her own toast. She had peeled and cut up a few bananas and had them on a plate to share. Sakura put some of Hinata's (homemade, bless that woman) orange marmalade over the warmed bread before popping the citrusy toast into her mouth and groaning in pleasure. She then went to town on the bananas, sipping coffee between bites of the ripe fruit.

It wasn't long before her breakfast was gone and her coffee, only half drank, was pried gently from her fingers before being replaced with a glass of water. Itachi set her coffee on the counter.

"Hydrate before exercising," was his easy explanation, earning an exaggerated eye roll and a huff of dissatisfaction from his pink-haired counterpart. He had begun drinking a glass of water as an exemple, and Sakura, while irritated that her coffee had been taken away, still followed his orders by downing her own glass.

It wasn't long until the three of them were waved off by Ino, who had to help her parents at their flower shop that day. The three jogged to the nearby Ueno Park, where they did stretches, lunges, sit-ups, and pushups. They then made the 4 kilometer run to Konan and Pein's shared apartment in Taitō.

Not long after their arrival, Sakura found herself sitting at the power couple's kitchen table with Deidara, Sasori, and Konan alternating staring at her ruddy face, still flushed from her exercise, and an oversized sketch pad that was laid out in front of them. There was a rough sketch of a woman's face taking up the majority of the paper that Sakura assumed was supposed to be her, and Konan had a smaller book with full body sketches on it.

"Purple," Sasori stated matter-of-factly, running his hand through his spikey red hair. He heard the intakes of breath of the two consultants next to him, but before they could protest, he held up his hand, grabbing his colored pencils with the other.

First, he colored in the currently white drawing of Sakura's hair black and then took several shades of purples and blues and drew streaks down the hair, so they were subtle over the black base. "It'll be understated enough but very unique and different. Pein said that the music he's been preparing for her album has a lot of hip-hop and rock undertones. This will fit the feel of the album more. She's not 18 anymore; she's grown out of the loli look we had for her first album."

"I'm going to have to come up with a whole new wardrobe for that color scheme," Konan stated, grabbing her own colored pencils and some things out on her personal pad. "We're going to have to limit warm colors and focus more on blues, purples, and pinks. Reds and yellows will clash with the hair."

"I'll need a new wig as well – I can't bleach the old one again," Sasori speculated, making some notes in his phone for later. Kakuzu, who was in charge of Sakura's finances and reconciling them with the record label, was sitting on the couch with Hidan playing videogames on Pein's big screen TV.

"Hey! Don't go spending money we don't have," he chastised. The distraction allowed Hidan to get ahead in whatever racing game they were playing, and the grey haired man seemed to win whatever competition they were having. Kakuzu jumped up from his place on the couch, throwing his controller at a slumbering Kisame, who was on an adjacent couch, so he could take over. The green-eyed accountant walked into the kitchen area with purposeful strides, a frown tugging his lips downward.

"Why does she have to have four different outfits like that? They all look the same."

"They aren't the same!" Konan retorted, her eyebrows furrowing in irritation. "This is a tank top, this is a tunic, and these are three different bottoms! And they're all different colors!"

"They look the same to me!" Sakura looked between the duo and wondered who would win in a fist fight if this argument came to blows. Konan, her face serene and replies sharp, stood up and Kakuzu almost took a step back.

Konan – Konan would definitely win. If anything, no one was stupid enough to mess with Pein's fiancé.

"Hey Sakura-chan," Deidara said, vying for her wandering attention, he had grabbed the large sketch pad from Sasori, who was sending e-mails to suppliers to get quotes for a new wig for her, "What do you think about light amounts of glitter?"

"I'm thinking Ino will kill you if I get glitter all over the apartment," Sakura grunted. She was beginning to get grumpy – it was past midmorning and the exercise had left her hungry. Deidara nodded. "Maybe there is a brand of body glitter that only comes off when wet so it won't stick to your couches."

Kakuzu was now arguing with Sasori, seeming to get over the "wine and eggplant being two different colors" argument he was having with Konan, to focus on the cost of _fake hair_. After a few more moments of pointless squabbling, Kakuzu pulled out a piece of paper and a calculator and went back to the couch to crunch numbers, seemingly accepting fate, but it didn't matter, as the three in charge of her look were now arguing with each other again.

Her beauticians were rabid when attacked.

Sakura rolled her eyes, but continued to allow her team to bicker. They were the experts in their fields, so as long as she got final veto power, could pick and choose some options, and had creative control over her music, she would let them do their jobs. As the noise of the squabbling grew louder (Deidara had the audacity to make a clothing choice suggestion, and Konan was smacking him with her sketch pad), Sakura barely heard the door to Pein's office open, and the music producer and her choreographer stepped out.

Ignoring everyone, Itachi made his way to her, leaning against her chair and towering above her with the smallest of upturns to his lips. "We listened to the final cuts of _Powers_ and _Not the Same_. I can definitely choreograph to those."

Sakura grinned – she had written those two songs for her second record, but they were a little darker than the overall tone than the rest of her sophomore album, so she benched them until the right time. When Pein had sent her sound bites of two tracks that had heavy hip-hop and dance influences, she knew exactly which lyrics to put with them.

"There is still a lot of work to be done," Pein reminded her, dropping a thumb drive in front of her. "I've also finished _Around the World, Secrets, Hikari and Yami,_ and _To the Moon_. Those with _Umbra, Powers,_ and _Not the Same_ makes seven. We'll need to record at least eight more to give to the record label. Listen to these and see if there is anything you'd like to change."

Nodding, Sakura slipped the flash drive into her bra (where else was she going to put it?) and scooted her chair out. The heat was beginning to get unbearable in the apartment with too many people in it. There was a patio just outside the living room, so she stepped out to breath in the cooler air. Summer was rapidly approaching, and spring was in full session.

Itachi followed her.

"I don't understand how they can argue like that," he murmured quietly. They could hear the voices getting louder inside. At some point, Kisame would stand up and shout something, making them all shut up – he was the old man of the group, after all, and often took on the role as father to the squabbling children.

"They're like the siblings I never had," she replied with a chuckle. Itachi looked at her.

"What are your plans after this?"

"After?" she asked, eying him curiously. A breeze swept through the walkway of the apartment, and Sakura signed contentedly at the cool wind that tickled the drying sweat on her brow.

"You signed a four record deal with the label, so after your next two albums, your contract is up. Will you sign another deal?" he clarified. He had brought out a bottle of Qoo* with him and offered her a drink. She took the grape flavored juice and took a few sips before passing it back with a snort.

"Are you thirteen?" she teased. He did not buy her attempts to change the subject, though, and kept his dark eyes on her. Sakura sighed. "I don't know – I'll still be young enough when the fourth record is finished, probably 25 or 26. I could do a few more after that. If I didn't… I guess I'd go on to be a doctor…"

"But?" He always knew her so well. Sakura lifted her shoulder in an attempt to shrug.

"You guys are all my best friends. I mean, I know I have Ino and the other girls, and Sasuke and Naruto and the rest but… this group has been lucky enough to be friends and know each other and work together for so long. More so than ending my career… could we all say that we'd be together if I stopped making music?" Sakura asked. The question was semi-hypothetical, but also, it was a real fear of hers. She gestured back to the apartment, where Kisame was now shouting at everyone to _shut up_. "I'd miss this."

Itachi's eyes softened, and he awkwardly wrapped an arm around her and squeezed before letting it drop back to his side. Physical displays of affection were never his forte – he usually left them to Deidara or Konan.

He didn't have any words of comfort, as she wasn't wrong, but he shifted a little closer to her and handed his drink over. She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, and the two continued to listen to the uproar of arguing going on inside the apartment behind them.

* * *

 _End Part I_

* * *

AN: I really wanted to write a story that also had Sakura's friendship with the Akatsuki represented in some way. While the main chapters will focus, to a larger extent, on Sakura and Sasuke, the "interim" chapters will be shorter and focus on her friendships with the Akatsuki. The next interim will be about how Sakura became friends with this group.

The more reviews I get, the more I write. It's a motivation thing - us millenials need lots of positive reinforcement.


	3. Part II: Light Me Up

**Umbra**

 **Part II: Light Me Up**

* * *

" _Come on get down, blow it all up_ _  
_ _Heart on my sleeve cause I have no doubts_ _  
_ _Know you're coming my way_ _  
_ _I see you coming my way"  
–Light Me Up by Icona Pop_

* * *

A single finger ran across the small font of a particularly heavy textbook to be followed by a pink highlighter, marking important information. The medical student let out a small huff as she scribbled down some facts in a notebook, starring it with purple pen to indicate its significance. Then, the pinkette continued to read and process the information.

" _The most widely studied trophoblast hormone product is hCG. In pregnancy this glycoprotein is critical since it rescues the corpus luteum from involution, and this maintains progesterone secretion by the ovarian granulosa cells. Its usefulness as a diagnostic marker of pregnancy stems…"_

Sakura was pulled from her intense studying by the sound of her phone ringer overtaking the soft classical music that had been playing from her Bluetooth speakers sitting on her desk. Starting from the sudden change in tone, Sakura pressed her hand over her heart for a moment before grabbing her phone and checking the name on the caller ID. Smiling, she pressed the green button on the screen.

"Karin!" she squealed into the receiver. In an unprecedented good mood and overly energetic from the extra cup of coffee she had gifted herself, the pinkette realized that her speaking volume may be a little too brash. Karin's groan was also a solid indication of her too-loud greeting.

"How much coffee have you had?" her friend whined, her voice sounding further away. The red head must have pulled the phone from her ear when her boisterous friend had practically screamed her greeting.

There was a good amount of background noise on the other end, and judging from the slight panting Karin was doing, she was likely walking down the street. Sakura grinned when she heard the other woman curse loudly at someone who had pushed past her.

"Too much," she replied. Final exams were this week, and she needed to memorize the effects of hormones on pregnant human females before her test the next morning. The late afternoon sun was low in her bedroom window, and Sakura had to turn her eyes away to avoid being blinded by the intense light.

Karin sighed, and Sakura could practically see her face. A small giggle escaped her as she asked, "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your phone call?"

There was a pause, and Sakura could hear Karin open a door and step into a quieter area – probably her apartment building or studio. "We have a concert in Tokyo next week, and we wanted to know if you would join us to sing _Independent_ ," the woman offered.

"We?" Sakura scoffed. Rolling from her stomach to her back, she peered at the spinning fan above her bed. A huff of irritation blew into her ear, and Sakura could practically feel Karin's exasperation through the phone.

"Well, it was _my_ idea, but Tayuya didn't say no," she replied. "The crowd would go insane if you made a guest appearance."

After realizing that Karin couldn't see her nodding her head in agreeance, Sakura told her, "I'll have Kisame call your manager to work something out."

A snicker came from Karin. "What, you don't want to talk to Kabuto yourself?"

"Ew, no thank you," was the honest reply. The pair's manager had always had a weird fascination with Sakura that bordered on stalking behavior, causing the pinkette to avoid him at all costs. He was also attending Todai to get his medical degree and was fascinated by her naturally pink hair, as he was focusing on genetics.

Luckily, the team of relatively athletic men who followed her around was an excellent creep deterrent.

After speaking for a few more minutes, the two hung up and Sakura texted Kisame, letting him know the plan, and he responded almost immediately. With her own album in the works, he thought it would be great to have her on stage with another act, as it would help with her publicity.

K&T, or Taka Karin and Hebi Tayuya, were a pop duo that had begun their career a few years before Sakura, and they were signed to the same label as she was. The pinkette had opened for them on one of their tours, just after her first album was released, which had helped to launch her career.

While she and Karin had been fast friends, Sakura did not get along as well with Tayuya after she almost outed her secret identity by pulling on her wig during a performance.

Despite her intense dislike for one half of the duo, she had to admit that they were talented. Both girls often sang at the same time during their songs and could harmonize perfectly. Not long after Sakura's second album had released, she recorded a song with K&T about being a powerful, self-sufficient woman that they simply dubbed _Independent_.

It had gone to the top of the charts worldwide and had even charted in the United States, where it was very difficult for a song done primarily in a non-English language to do well. When they decided to record an English version, it sat on the American charts for several weeks, and they had even been awarded a Billboard Award for the funky pop hit, although Sakura had not been able to attend the event.

Sakura texted her roommates to see if they wanted to attend the concert, all of whom responded quickly that they would love to come. One of best perks of Sakura being a popstar was the frequent concerts they were able to attend for free.

Kisame messaged her, telling her that he had spoken to Kabuto and had set up the deal with K&T's manager. He had included Kakuzu on the message thread so he knew to work out Sakura's payment for the guest performance. Once her conversation with her manager and financial advisor was finished, she turned her phone on silent in order to concentrate on her studies.

After another hour of cramming, Sakura heard a polite knock on the front door. Assuming it was one of her roommates who forgot their keys, she made her way through the halls and unlatched the door, and almost slammed it on the face of the person on the other end.

Sasuke stuck his foot into the crack and then pushed in with his shoulder to pop his head in as she attempted to close the door.

"What the hell, Sakura?" he huffed.

"Sasuke, I'm barely wearing any clothes!" she squealed, motioning toward her flimsy camisole that was riding up her stomach and running shorts that were a size to small, sitting low on her hips. "What are you doing here?"

"I texted you, but you didn't respond," he countered with irritation, knocking his shoulder into the door to bully his way into her apartment. She noticed a plastic takeout bag in his hand and his backpack slung over one shoulder. By way of explanation, he said, "Our clinical psychology final is in two days."

Forgetting the fact that she was half naked in front of her crush, Sakura arched an eyebrow at him. A small smile forming on her lips, she asked, "And the food is a bribe because you don't take notes, and now you're freaking out?"

Sasuke scoffed, but did not deny the allegation, as he moved past her and into the living room and deposited his backpack on the coffee table along with the food. With a resigned sigh, Sakura moved to her bedroom to change. "I'll be out in a minute," she told him.

"You don't have to change," Sasuke replied with a smirk. "I like the view."

Blushing furiously, Sakura ran into her room and slammed the door. The pop star threw herself at her dresser and began to frantically pull through her clothes, trying to decide on what to wear. No matter how many times she studied or hung out with Sasuke, she was always incredibly self-conscious when she was with him.

Sakura chose a pair of athletic leggings and a slightly baggy off-the-shoulder red shirt with the name of one of her favorite bands, Suna3 (called Sand Cube in English speaking countries). She pulled her hair into a ponytail and grabbed her books before going back into the living room.

Sasuke had set out the food, and she noticed that he had picked up her favorite – yakisoba from a street vendor not too far from the university. Her stomach growled happily at the prospect of delicious dinner. It was almost dark out, but she hadn't eaten since lunch.

Without guilt for eating out so much (Hidan would be cursing at her if he knew), Sakura plucked her favorite flavor from the table and cracked open her chopsticks as she settled on the couch next to Sasuke. He selected his own styrofoam container and pulled off the lid, taking measured bites of the savory food. Sasuke flipped the TV on, selecting a kitschy variety show they could leave on in the background.

They held easy conversation, speaking of Naruto's surprising turn to go into Political Science next year after changing his major from Japanese linguistics and English, before finishing their supper and throwing out the empty containers. Sakura threw her psychology notes at Sasuke, who began copying them greedily, before turning back to the book she was reading before.

The two studied in a comfortable silence, Sasuke occasionally asking her questions to clarify her notes, and Sakura sticking her cold toes under his thigh as the sun set in the living room window; they are forced to turn on lights to see better once it finally dips below the high rise buildings.

Ino arrives with Tenten, and not long after, Hinata returns home with Naruto in tow. Sakura is almost irritated that her alone time with Sasuke is interrupted, but Naruto produces ice cream and all is forgiven.

Later, when they are all sleepily sprawled on the couches and the floor in a food-induced coma, and Sakura is setting three alarms on her phone to make sure they all wake up in time to go to their exams, Sasuke's phone suddenly rings. He is on his back, sprawled on the floor with a throw pillow under his head, when he cracks his eye open. The phone is on the couch by Sakura, and she grins devilishly when she sees the picture on the screen.

"Uchiha Sasuke's phone, this is his study slave speaking, how may I help you?" she sings into the phone after picking it up. Sasuke shoots up from his place on the floor and makes a grab for her hands, trying to wrestle the device from her grip. Sakura uses her foot to keep him at bay. On the other side of the call, Itachi chuckles.

"Well, slave, give my brother the phone," he orders with another laugh.

Sasuke begins cursing at her. The rest of their friends begin moving again at the commotion, bleary eyes sharpening at the comical scene in front of them. Sakura finally tosses the phone to Sasuke, who struggles to clutch onto it as it juggles between his hands.

"Nii-san," he drawled blandly in greeting when he finally manages to get the device to his ear. Not being able to hear what was said on the other end, Sakura starts cleaning up the disastrous living room.

She pads into the kitchen on bare feet to throw the empty ice cream cartons in the trash and the spoons in the sink. When she enters the living room again, the girls' eyes were all a little wide and panicked, alternating between looking at her and Sasuke. Naruto was laughing at something the other boy had just said as the Uchiha hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" she asks, eyeing her worried friends speculatively. They were acting so weird.

"Sasuke-teme's brother got us all tickets to the K&T concert next weekend!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, waving his hands. "I guess he did some choreographing for them, so he was able to get front row seats."

Sakura felt a vein burst in her head as she took in the information. "Aw, shit, guys, sorry," she tried to deflect. "I'm volunteering at the hospital next weekend."

Naruto's face melted in disappointment, and she watched as Sasuke's shoulders stiffened as he turned to glare at her. He must not be excited for the pop concert, she assumed.

"No," he countered a little harsher than necessary. "You're always working or volunteering or going home to visit your parents. You're coming with us. Tell the hospital that something came up. There are other volunteers."

Indignant with his commanding reply, she glared at him. "I have other obligations, Sasuke-kun," she argued. "You can't just tell me what to do!"

Sasuke's eyes were squinting at her menacingly, and behind him, Naruto looked nervous. Trying to placate the two powerful forces of will that were about to crash, he held up his hands.

"Sasuke-teme doesn't mean to be like that Sakura-chan, but he has a point. You hardly spend time with us on weekends, and you go home on long breaks to visit your parents. We just miss you, is all," he says, trying to appeal to her softer side.

Ino looked at her carefully, assessing. "Why don't you see if you can get someone to take your shift for you, Sakura? We'll figure something out," she agreed, giving her a meaningful look.

Trusting her friend implicitly, although completely unsure of how they were going to pull this off, Sakura reluctantly agreed. Sasuke and Naruto left not long after, and Sakura banged her head against the door hard after locking it behind her two male friends. She picked up her phone and began frantically texting Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori.

They would need a plan.

Across town, Itachi was sitting on his couch playing on his phone with an old movie providing white noise in the background. Silently, he was patting his back on a job well done – he had gotten his little brother a date, albeit a group date, with Sakura; he couldn't do everything for his brother – the rest was up to Sasuke.

Suddenly, three texts came in all at once from his friends, and they all said the same thing:

 _You're an idiot!_

X

The next week, Sakura stood nervously on the subway surrounded by her chatty friends. Blushing from the heat and the fact that Sasuke was pressed up against her side in the tight, heavily-populated rail car, she attempted to hold onto a rung above her head.

The train car jerked to a halt at the next stop. Mass amounts of people pushed themselves off the car and even more attempted to force themselves on. Losing her grip on the rung, Sakura was only prevented from being forced away from her friends by Sasuke's arm snaking around her waist and pulling her back towards him. Her rosy cheeks heated even more, if possible.

Now, her naked back (thanks to Ino's revealing wardrobe choices), was pressed firmly against his front. Sakura became as stiff as a board.

Wedged between Tenten and Naruto, Ino looked at her and waggled her eyebrows, earning a middle finger from Sakura. For the remainder of the ride, Sasuke kept his arm around her to prevent them from being separated.

After spending the morning in sound check with K&T – with Sakura departing, later, very proud of herself for not sniping at Tayuya the entire time – she took a private car back to her apartment.

Ino and Konan had come up with an outfit for her – a dark green halter that dipped low to show cleavage in the front and wrapped around her, exposing everything but her lower back. This was paired with black strappy sandals and black shorts that were barely modest enough for Sakura.

These would be easy to change in and out of for her one-song performance that she would do later that evening. Konan had chosen a pair of simple blue jeans and a cropped, long-sleeved galaxy print shirt that was baggy but exposed most of her stomach, and a pair of bright yellow heals. Everything would be easy to change into.

Two songs before she was to sing, she would claim she wasn't feeling well and make her way backstage, where Deidara, Sasori, and Haku would be waiting with her clothes, hair, and make-up. Since she wasn't required to do much dancing, Sasori wouldn't have to sew her wig on and could get away with bobby pins, and Deidara promised to keep the makeup uncomplicated.

It was a simple plan. Now she just had to execute it without completely screwing it up.

When their train finally came to their stop, the group of six forced their way off of the subway and into the crowded streets of Tokyo. They walked for a while, going with the herd of traffic, in the direction of the venue. There was little talk during this time, as they were just focused on getting to the hall together.

Their VIP passes got them immediate access, so they were able to forego waiting in line with the rest of the fans out front. Ino insisted on getting them all drinks, and in what felt like no time at all, Sakura was sitting almost center stage in the front row of a crowded Tokyo Dome with a large, fruity cocktail in her hand.

Sasuke maneuvered his way to her other side with a beer and offered her a sip, smirking when she made a disgusted face at him. Music was blaring over the speakers while fans were allowed inside. The arena was quickly packed with people surrounding them on all sides.

Sakura couldn't help but remember just a few months ago when she had been headlining this very same arena.

Smiling at the memory, she leaned into Sasuke to talk to him about baseball practice. The younger Uchiha brother was on one of the Todai teams. With their seats pushed together as close as they were, the raven haired male loomed over her, his arm around her chair. Sakura could feel the heat of it across her shoulders. When his hand lightly touched her bare shoulder, she almost jerked in nervousness from the sudden contact.

Sasuke seemed to misjudge her jumpiness for distaste because he slowly pulled it back. Despite how hot it was getting in the room, she missed the warmth.

The arena filled to capacity over the next half hour. The crowd went wild when the lights turned off, and the opening band began their song with the arena blacked out, the exhilaratingly thick guitar riffs permeating through the room, barely able to overtake their screaming followers.

The opening act was a band called Hidden Leaf that had just been brought onto the same label as Sakura and K&T the prior year. Their debut album had just been released six months earlier, and there was a lot of buzz around them, as their drummer, Moegi, was the sole female of the group and this was something newer to Japanese music. Udon played the lead guitar and Konohamaru was the lead singer and bass player.

They played for just shy of forty-five minutes, and while the crowd did not know all of their songs, the singles that had been popular on the radio got everyone singing. By the end of the set, Sakura was jumping and dancing to the electrifying guitar. Even Sasuke bobbed his head to the beat while he drank his beer. Ino, who had disappeared halfway through to get another round of drinks, was more than tipsy and falling over poor Tenten to her left.

During the set change, Sakura decided to go buy a shirt from the sellers in the lobby with Hinata, but also used the time to make sure her team had arrived and was ready to go. She took a deep breath when they all responded to her frantic texts that they were there and ready for her.

The two had just returned to their seats when the lights went out again, and the crowd of exuberant admirers, Sakura included, began screaming in excitement. Sakura's heart pumped wildly in her chest, adrenaline coursing through her. It wasn't often that she got to enjoy a concert from the crowd, and she had missed the anticipation of seeing one of her favorite artists live.

Bright multicolored lights suddenly lit up the stage and from each end, Tayuya and Karin stomped out in heels higher than she would ever dare to wear. The dance music began playing loudly as the duo waved to the crowd, and they began with one of their first hits off their debut album. The multitude of fans in the audience went wild and began dancing along to the music as the duo started singing in perfect tandem with one another.

Once the first song was complete, they greeted their fans properly.

"How's everyone doing tonight?!" Tayuya yelled into the microphone. Everyone cheered loudly. She continued, "That's Taka Karin."

There were more boisterous cries from the fans, and Karin waited until they calmed down before shouting, "And she's Hebi Tayuya!"

Together, as the mob went ballistic, the duo joined at center stage, backs pressed together, and in perfect unison, sang into the mics, "And we're K AND T."

Jumping up and down excitedly, Sakura didn't even realize she had lost her balance until she was falling. Sasuke's arm grabbed her from midair and pulled her back against his chest for the second time that night. His hot breath, stinging with the scent of beer, was in her ear.

"Be careful," he chuckled. She could have melted into the floor from embarrassment… or arousal. She wasn't sure which. Laughing at her from around Tenten, Ino thrust a flask (she must have snuck it in) into her hands.

"Drink more," she hollered over the noise with a cackle.

Twisting off the cap, Sakura could smell the pungent smell of vodka and cranberry juice. After a few sips, she slipped it into her back pocket, thinking she could use the alcohol as an excuse for not feeling well later. Sasuke's arm stayed around her waist, drawing circles into the small trail of flesh between her shirt and shorts with his thumb.

The next song started in earnest, and the group of university students danced and sang along with the rest of the spectators. Sasuke hadn't listened to K&T much, so he only watched the musicians while mouthing the words to the more popular songs, nodding his head to the beat. Still, his arm didn't move from its place on her waist.

When the opening beats began for _Kamikaze Love_ , Sakura knew it was time to make her exit. Turning to Tenten, she said, motioning to the flask in her hand, "I'm not feeling so great. I'm going to use the bathroom and wash my face, I think."

Tenten, who was in the on the plan, offered to go with her. Sakura accepted, and after a brief explanation to the others (the best they could with the music as loud as it was), the two made their way to the aisles.

Bursting through the arena door and into the lobby, Sakura followed the instructions that Kisame had given her to get to the backstage area. She flashed a special pass to the security guard and was thrilled to see Haku on the other side of the door waiting for her. The pop star threw her arms around him; her rather shy assistant blushed a bit before leading the girls to where Deidara, Sasori, and Kisame were waiting with all of her things.

Her red-headed hair dresser grabbed her by the arm and threw her behind a changing screen before beginning to undress her without so much as a "hello." After so many years working with Sasori, Sakura was used to this behavior. Deidara joined them quickly and pulled Sakura's shirt over her head.

"Cute top," he complimented, throwing it in an indeterminate direction.

"Tell Ino," she rebutted, but her reply was muffled by the galaxy print shirt being thrown over her shoulders. The second it was settled, Sasori was gathering her hair into his hands and French braiding it faster than she could keep up with.

Stepping out of her shorts and into her jeans, Deidara pulled them up her legs and started to button them, but Sakura swatted his hands away to do it herself.

"Shit!" she cursed, noticing the jeans were a lower rise than she thought.

"What?" Sasori asked as he twisted what was left of her hair into the tiny bun on the back of her head.

Peeking out from her jeans was a small tattoo that Sakura had gotten on her first trip to America – the script _libertas_ on her hip with the outline of a sparrow around it, woven intricately with the Latin word for freedom.

Waving her hands away, Deidara peered at the tattoo. Although only her roommates and her Kaori team knew of the ink (her parents would _kill_ her), Sakura was worried having the tattoo exposed for everyone to see.

"I don't have makeup that will cover this. We're going to have to pull up your pants and hope for the best," he told her with a shrug.

Groaning, Sakura was pulled out from behind the screen and sat in a makeup chair just as the song ended. Haku held a mirror in front of her face as she placed her thick brown contacts in position.

Karin and Tayuya started the next song, and after that, Sakura would make her appearance. Luckily, this one was a bit longer as there would be a dance intermission during the number.

Deidara worked on her makeup carefully. Her skin was clear enough that he didn't have to do too much in way of cover-up, but he usually contoured her face to give her a slightly different appearance with higher cheekbones and a sharper chin, making it less obvious to her friends that she and Otsuka Kaori was the same person. Today he did this with a quick, expert hand, not taking as much time to make sure it was perfect.

After her foundation and contouring was complete, he pulled out deep purple eye shadow. She closed her lids carefully and felt, rather than saw, Sasori pull her wig over her head and begin pinning it in place. Deidara's expert brush strokes covered her eyelids, and after just a few moments, he had her blink rapidly while he dabbed on mascara.

"I heard you needed a belt," a voice said from behind her, and Sakura grit her teeth in irritation. She did not turn to look at Kabuto.

"Yes, thank you," she replied curtly. Haku took the belt from him with thanks and handed the simple black piece of leather to her. Begrudgingly, she admitted that it would help hide her tattoo all the better.

Sasori had just finished pinning the wig in place when Deidara finalized her look with a swipe of glitter over her cheek bones.

"You're perfect!" the blond announced boldly. Sakura rolled her eyes but thanked them for coming all the way here for just one song. Strapping the belt through the loops on her pants, she hiked them up the best she could so only a small portion of her tattoo was peeking out, but she could live with it.

As Sakura began singing to warm up her voice, doing runs to keep her throat from straining, Haku held a mirror up so she could see herself. It always amazed her how she could look so different with the hair and makeup of a popstar.

Grinning, she listened as the last song ended and stepped up to the wings of the stage. A stagehand gave her a bright purple microphone to complement Karin's blue and Tayuya's pink. The red head looked at her, and Sakura gave a nod of affirmation.

"Alright, everybody, we knew that this crowd was going to be amazing," Karin told the audience. There was a wave of cheers from the fans.

Tayuya continued, "And we knew we were going to have to do something special for such a special night: a sold out Tokyo Dome show!"

The spectators went wild. Once it calmed, both girls simultaneously raised their arms to her wing of the stage. Together, they said, "Here with us tonight, ladies and gentlemen, is Otsuka Kaori!"

If Sakura was going to go deaf from sound alone, it would be from the roar of the crowd. The audience went completely insane, jumping up and down on each other as Otsuka Kaori strutted on stage in her yellow high heels. She smiled charmingly at the crowd, waving and greeting.

False brown eyes searching, she caught Ino's smile, and next to her, was a stunned looking Sasuke. With confidence she did not have as Haruno Sakura, she smirked and winked at him. Ino grabbed him by his arms and shook him in excitement. He continued to stare at her with wide eyes, a small blush forming on his high cheekbones.

"Are you guys ready for some _Independent_?!" she asked the crowd. The response was even louder than it had been when she had walked on stage. Smiling from ear to ear, she said, "Alright, let's do this!"

The opening notes were heavy drums that were coupled with a screeching single trumpet. The beat was a little funky, having been inspired by old American jazz and funk musicians. Then, the dance music starts and Sakura opens her mouth, the words flowing easily.

After the first verse, Karin and Tayuya joined her for the chorus, all three of them harmonizing in tandem. K&T sang the second verse, the girls' alternating lines; together again for the chorus, the bridge, and then the chorus one last time.

Everyone screamed the song at the top of their lungs, and Sakura couldn't help but think that their existence as the artists may be redundant. During their second chorus, all three of them held their microphones away from the stage, and the audience grew louder and louder, taking over and singing the words for the pop stars. It was electrifying, and as she jumped as best she could in her heels, she lost herself in the music and the performance.

It felt like the song took forever but was over so quickly. As they shouted the final lines out with their fans, Sakura almost felt a tear come to her eyes at the intense love and support she was awarded from her loyal supporters. Bowing, Sakura waved as she walked off the stage and instantly stepped out of her heels.

"Everyone, give it up one more time for Otsuka Kaori!" Once again, the shouts were thunderous. As quickly as her wardrobe and makeup had been put on, Sasori and Deidara had it off of her, rubbing her face with makeup remover as pins were plucked from her hair.

Deidara reapplied the slight makeup that she had been wearing while Sasori's fingers ran through her hair to undo the slight curl that had formed from the braids. They both helped her undress and put back on her old clothes, and she and Tenten were then thrust from backstage unceremoniously, blinded from the fluorescent lights.

The girls stopped by the concession stand for another round of drinks and quickly made their way through the crowd to the front row, the brunette gushing how good her performance had been. Using their VIP passes to a nearby worker, an attendant helped guide them with a flashlight to the appropriate row.

Her friends were quick to tell her about the sudden appearance of Japan's most famous pop star. Tenten told them, "We saw! The crowd was so wild that we couldn't get back, so we waited in an aisle until her song was over."

"She was awesome!" Sakura added, feeling odd at complimenting herself like that. Sasuke was silent, looking at her with a blank look. Tilting her head, she questioned, "What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?"

Ino threw herself onto the pinkette's shoulders, explaining loudly in her ear, "He's probably just shell shocked from seeing his favorite live!"

Laughing, the group turned back to the concert and enjoyed the rest of the show. K&T performed another seven songs and then two as an encore. Once it was finished, everyone linked hands as they were pushed in a wave towards the door, spilling onto the Tokyo streets.

After a few minutes of walking, Tenten answered a call on her phone. Neji and Shikamaru were inviting them to a karaoke bar just a few blocks away. Exhausted after such a long day, Sakura declined the invitation, as did Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke. Ino and Tenten parted from them as the group of four made their way back home.

The train cars were still fairly populated, but they managed to find seats. Sakura chatted with Naruto amiably; the blonde's arm was slung around Hinata's shoulder, who was blushing prettily from the attention of her boyfriend. Sasuke walked with his hands in his pockets, clearly not in the mood to socialize further. Sakura assumed that the massive amount of people was just too much for the disagreeable Uchiha.

What should have been a thirty minute trip home took almost an hour due to the amount of people on the train and the streets. When they arrived at Sakura's place, Hinata, blushing furiously, told her roommate that she would be spending the night at Naruto-kun's apartment. The pop-star grinned but did not say anything, not wanting to deter her friend from doing what she wanted.

"I think I left something in your apartment," Sasuke said suddenly, making startlingly intense eye contact with her. Quirking her head, Sakura contemplated what he could have left, but she couldn't think of anything.

"One of my notebooks," he explained.

Finals were over, but Sakura knew Sasuke liked to hoard his notes in case he needed them later. The raven haired male told the other two to continue on without him, that he'd be by later, and followed her up the few flights of stairs. Sakura unlocked the door with a soft click and unstrapped her sandals with a contented sigh.

"I'll help you look for your notebook. It may have slid under the couch," she offered, padding into the apartment. Her phone lands on the kitchen counter with a soft clunk. Quietly, she filled the teapot and set it on the stove, clicking the electric burner on. She added chamomile tea to steep. "Do you want tea?"

Realizing that Sasuke hadn't said anything or even moved past the entryway, Sakura poked her head out of the kitchen to find him staring at her. She couldn't tell if he was angry or upset, so she moved around the corner cautiously.

"Sasuke?" she asked, concerned. His eyes flashed.

"When were you going to tell me?" he bit out harshly. "Were you even going to say anything?!"

"W-w-what?" she stammered, confused. But the sinking feeling in her stomach told her exactly what he was asking.

"When were you going to tell me that you are Otsuka Kaori?"

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Author's Note: Please read and review. I love you all!


	4. In interim: Where's My Love?

**Umbra**

 **In interim: Where's My Love**

* * *

" _Did you run away?_

 _Did you run away? I don't need to know_

 _If you ran away_

 _If you ran away, come back home_

 _Just come home"_

– _Where's My Love by Syml_

* * *

"So he just…left?"

Sakura, spinning on a rolling chair in the soundboard room, pushed her foot onto the ground to stop twirling. When she finally came to a halt, she was facing the wrong way, so she pushed off again to face Konan, who was leaning against the far wall. Her head bobbed down in a nod. She grabbed her coffee, sitting unassumingly on the end table next to her, and took two generous gulps, wiping the drops forming at the corner of her mouth with her wrist.

"Yeah. He asked me when I was going to tell him, I sputtered out some sort of incoherent response, and he just turned around and slammed the door. I haven't heard from him in three days," she finished with a sigh, running her fingers through her tangled hair.

Seeing this, Deidara jumped up from his place on the couch, seemingly pulling a brush out of nowhere, and leapt over to her. She allowed him to fuss, tugging the brush gently through her knotted locks. She had spent the morning in dance rehearsals with a militant Itachi, and her disheveled appearance reflected it.

She added, "Naruto's not talking to me or Hinata either. I've known him longer than I've known Sasuke." She swatted at an undeterred Deidara when he fished out a particularly tangled knot. "I guess Sasuke-kun told Naruto before he went home to his parents' house. We couldn't find him. Luckily, Mikoto-san called Itachi to let him know. We were worried."

"We're ready to go again," Pein interrupted. Lips thinned out in concentration, he clicked the microphone in the booth on. "You good?"

Inside the sound booth, Gaara nodded. Pein held up three fingers and clicked the green button. Sakura's most recent song, _Winter's End,_ blared through the speakers. Gaara, with his head phones on, waited for the chorus, his head bobbing up and down to the rock-inspired riffs, and when it came, began to harmonize with her prerecording.

When the song finished, he had completed three choruses and his solo verse at the end. Pein made him run through it one more time but was pleased with how it sounded. Gaara emerged from the sound booth and, with a quiet _thank you_ , accepted the water bottle Sakura handed over.

"It sounds awesome, Gaara," she complimented. "It's just what the song needed. Thank you."

"It's a good song. You'll have to join us on Suna3 next album. We already started writing," he told her.

She gladly agreed. It wasn't uncommon for them to write together and appear on the other's album. Both had become popular around the same time, and tabloids often speculated that they were in a relationship. But Gaara and his siblings had only ever been friends; however, it was nice to have someone she was comfortable with to go to events with, so she didn't feel pressured with a real date. Sakura liked to think she gave Gaara the same comfort.

He departed just as Deidara finished an elaborate French braid in her hair, twisting several braids together and tying them off in a bun with a flourish. Her manicured nails clacked the screen of her phone as she fidgeted, anxiety making her unable to sit still. The door to the studio opening made her jump. It was Sasori with takeout.

After a break for lunch, Sakura was able to polish off _Winter's End_ and make good headway on another ballad, this one about being two people in one body and the conflict that came with the identity confusion, called _Gemini_.

It was almost dusk when she emerged from the vocal booth. Konan had gone home, and Deidara and Sasori were dozing on the couch. Kisame was there now, a large grin stretching his mouth.

"They decided to release _Umbra_ tonight!" he announced the moment she walked through the glass door into the studio. A little bewildered, Sakura tilted her head.

"The album's not even done yet," she stated. Kisame shrugged.

"The execs have been approving songs as we produce them. The album's almost done," Pein informed.

Counting with her fingers, Sakura realized that indeed, they had finished 10 of the 12 songs that would go on the album. She would maybe record two or three others in case the higher ups wanted to swap out, but she had several songs written that she had wanted to record. They would probably finish in the next two weeks or so.

Adrenaline coursed through her as her heart pounded. The time just before new music was released was filled with tension. Sakura always worried that her new music wouldn't be well received.

"It's a surprise drop at midnight across all platforms. It means that you'll have some appearances to do to promote the record," Kisame informed her. His fingers were rapidly typing away at his phone, attention divided. "They want to release that and one other before your USA tour this summer."

A heady sensation fell over Sakura, and for a moment, she forgot about all of her personal drama. She was excited for the album she had been writing for so long. "Okay…" she said with a sigh, tugging at an errant strand of hair that fell out of the braids. "That's such short notice."

"Ah chibi, you'll be fine!" Kisame promised with more than enough confidence for the both of them. He settled his hands on her cheeks, squishing them together. They smelled like onions, making her wrinkle her nose. "The song is amazing!"

Bolstered by his confidence, she nodded and tried to get him to release her, but Kisame's hands just pressed her cheeks more.

A few moments later, when Itachi walked into the room, he found Deidara laughing so hard his face was bright red, Sasori watching the blond amusedly, and Pein was ignoring them all, packing up his equipment and turning off the studio switchboards. Kisame was howling in pain as Sakura's nails latched onto his hands, which were pressed to her cheeks.

"Your nails are sharp!" he cried. Sakura's fingernails dug deeper.

"Then let go of my face, you onion troll!" she hollered back. It wasn't until he yanked his hands back that her claws dislodged from their place, leaving crescent marks on them. Days later, Kisame would show her bruises that formed. Grinning, Sakura flashed the V for victory sign at her grumbling manager.

"You're all having fun," Itachi observed. Kisame flourished a rude hand gesture in his direction. Sakura just grinned. Deep charcoal looked at her. "It's getting dark. I'll drive you home."

Nodding, Sakura picked up her backpack with her workout gear and unfinished homework. They walked out of the studio and into a long, modernly decorated hallway that bordered floor to ceiling windows that faced Mount Fuji far in the distance. They walked down the six flights of stairs to the basement parking.

Itachi had his own spot, his shiny car not standing out among the expensive vehicles of the rich business men and women who worked in the building. Sakura ducked into the familiar passenger seat and immediately hooked her phone up to the speakers. As the soft hum of his car coming to life filled the empty garage, Sakura picked a song.

The funky jazz music that filled the car had her tapping her foot. This kind of music always reminded her of Itachi; it was different and unique, but undeniably cool. Laughing at her internal thoughts, she shook her head. Itachi glanced her way.

"Dinner?" he asked. He chuckled when Sakura pumped her arms in excitement, agreeing wholeheartedly.

They decided on an American styled burger restaurant. Sakura didn't complain when Itachi stole her pickle, his favorite part of their meal, and he didn't complain when she double dipped her fries in the savory ketchup. They talked about an orchestra Itachi planned to go see live in Yokohama, the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, which he was very excited for, and the upcoming release of Sakura's album. She bemoaned all the work she had to finish at school on top of finishing the album.

Bellies full and smiles on their faces, the duo slouched lazily back into Itachi's car after the sun had set. Sakura dozed off in the front seat, face pressed against the window, as Itachi tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the music she had chosen. At a light, Sakura heard him quickly type out text and send it before continuing their meandering speed through the busy streets of Tokyo.

When they pulled in front of her apartment building, Itachi shook her awake. He had pulled off the side of the road.

"We're here," he said quietly. Sakura groaned.

"Carry me," she commanded, lifting her arms in his direction, waving them to indicate she should be carried. Itachi laughed and poked her in the sides a few times until she was snickering with genuine gusto.

She hopped out of the car and opened the back door, slinging her backpack onto her shoulder. When she turned around, she saw a familiar form leaning against the wall of her building, right next to the front door. Panicking, she swung back around to Itachi, but he was waving at her.

"You two need to talk," he told her seriously before rolling up his window.

"You planned this!" she shouted. He nodded with no shame before driving off. Heart thumping wildly in her chest, Sakura took a calming breath before turning back around. Sasuke had pushed himself off the wall and was now walking towards her. She managed to whisper, "Hey."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking off in the distance at some point beyond her shoulder. Dressed in a dark band t-shirt and pair of jeans with his hair perfectly messy, Sakura could barely breathe. He was so perfect.

Finally, he replied, "Hey."

They stood together in awkward silence for what felt like forever, but what was probably only a few moments. Sucking in a deep breath, she finally managed to move her head so he was forced to look directly at her. But she wasn't prepared to be subjected to one of his intense stares. After another moment of silence, she found her voice.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, still locking her gaze to his. Like a floodgate, all of her thoughts came tumbling from her mouth, "Really, I am. I never meant to lie to you, but I wanted to keep it a secret from everyone so they wouldn't look at me differently. Ino was the only one who knew, but Hanabi is one of my backup dancers and she blabbed to Hinata and to Neji. She almost got fired for breaking her confidentiality, but luckily for her I was friends with Hinata-chan or she would have lost her job. She ended up in a meeting with all the executives in the company, and I think she cried, but she kept her job. But Neji went and told Tenten, so that's how they found out. Then all of a sudden, I felt like everyone knew, and so much time had gone by. It was like, how could I tell you now that it had been almost four years and —"

"You're nervous," he interrupted. "It's why you're talking so much. You always talk too much when you're anxious."

Taking a breath, she blew the falling strands of her bangs out of her eyes. She realized that Sasuke was making fun of her a bit, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Do you want to come inside?" she asked, transferring her backpack from one shoulder to the other. It was starting to get heavy, her books weighing it down. Sasuke nodded and held the door open for her. She guided him to the elevator, which was filled with people, and into the empty apartment.

Hinata and Tenten were at the Hyuuga patriarch's, Hinata's father, birthday celebration. Ino was spending the night with a friend from work. When she put down her backpack on the couch and turned around, she found Sasuke standing by one of the windows that overlooked the city. In the distance, he could see their university campus.

Sakura walked up to him, daring to stand a little closer than normal. She remembered his arms around her during the concert a few days ago, how good she felt, and she wanted to feel like that again. He smelled good, like aftershave. Sasuke turned towards her, and she realized just how close they were. Her heart beat faster, heat rising to her cheeks.

But Sakura could tell that she wasn't the only one affected; Sasuke's cheeks were a little more flushed than normal. His dark eyes studied the ground between them.

"I really am sorry—"

"Stop apologizing," he commanded softly. "I talked to Itachi. He explained a lot."

"Oh," she responded. Her green eyes wandered to the twinkling lights of the city below and around them.

"I was always jealous of you two," he admitted, running a hand through his messy hair. Shocked by the abrupt confession, Sakura drew her eyes back to him. He was looking away, abashed. "Things were hard for us after you confessed in junior high. But you and Itachi were always such easy friends. I always felt like we had to work for it."

Cheeks darkening at the memory, Sakura confessing her 13-year-old love and Sasuke rejecting her soundly, Sakura shuffled her bare feet on the hard bamboo floors.

"I thought…" he trailed off. "I thought you stopped feeling that way for me. When I realized that I had... when I thought of you that way… I thought it was too late."

She chose her words carefully, barely able to breathe by his confession. "I never stopped. I tried really hard, but I always loved you," she told him seriously, "When I realized that you had a crush on Otsuka Kaori, I thought that if you ever found out, you would only like me for her."

Fingers itching at her sides, Sakura reached out before pulling them back. Sasuke took the hint, and stretched his hand out, lacing their fingers together. His hands were cold.

"Itachi sent me your song. _Umbra_? He said you wrote it about me."

"Itachi's got a big mouth," she muttered, embarrassed. She wrote that song in a moment of intense weakness and insecurity, and it was very revealing to those who knew her well.

"Is it about me?" he asked, firmly this time. She nodded, refusing to look at him.

One finger from his free hand guided her chin to look at him. When their eyes locked, Sasuke ducked down, his lips meeting hers.

* * *

 _End Part II_

* * *

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed. We are looking at 1-2 more chapters. Please review!


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